Recipients of President's Grant for Student Research in Diversity

Published in 6/1/2002

The Committee for Community and Diversity (CCD) announced that Leanne M. Stahnke, doctoral candidate in the Curriculum and Teaching Department, and Kenneth A. Kozol, Ed.M. candidate in the Arts and Humanities Department of Music Education, have received the first President's Grant for Student Research in Diversity.

The grant fund provides $3,000 each for research that enhances and expands our understanding of diversity. The proposals are described as follows:

Becoming More Multiple: Phenomenological Interviews of Teenagers Engaged in Antiracism Work

Leanne M. Stahnke, doctoral candidate

Prof. Nancy Lesko, faculty sponsor

The interview study will investigate how youth engaged in antiracism work convert their exposure to new subjectivities into fuel for social action. Twenty New York City youths will be asked to explore in detail the experiences and influences that prompted them to get involved with antiracism work. In addition, they will be asked to contemplate various traditions of working with others to achieve social justice goals. Of particular concern in this research is the lack of emphasis in our culture today on collaborative work; how do youth who are committed to the uplift of all navigate a culture that emphasizes autonomy and individual achievement? Participants' reflections regarding these topics will be analyzed in light of various feminisms that theorize certain experiences (e.g., engagement with multiple subjectivities, participation in collective action) as critical to the development of differential consciousness.

Mùsica de Nuestros Vecinitos: A Study of Mexican, Dominican and Puerto Rican Children's Music and Song Games from Country of Origin to New York City

Kenneth A. Kozol, masters candidate

Prof. Bert Konowitz, faculty sponsor

The research will focus on the folk music of children from Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic as it originates in those countries. The research continues in the lives of these children living in New York City. This project will seek to gather children's songs from these different communities, determine the roles these songs serve in the lives of children, and then examine the transculturation process and its influence on this music. The research will conclude with a publication of the findings and a CD of the music collected.